4 Easy Ways to Include Literature in Your Homeschool

Sometimes it seems impossible to achieve all the many things we want to accomplish in our children’s educations. It’s a daunting process–ensuring you are teaching them the best way, the best topics, the best preparation for the real world.

You know me. I totally believe you can’t go wrong by making literature an important part of your homeschool.

Types of literature to include in your homeschool

As far as I’m concerned, any kind of literature, from the classics to the modern and from the literary to the comedy should be part of your homeschool curriculum. I’ve extolled the virtues of reading many, many times, but I can’t say it enough–reading fiction adds a layer to your child’s education that can’t be had in any other way. It is an irreplaceable tool that teaches every single topic you can think of.

Classics and literary books teach language and grammar, history and creativity.

Modern books can help your littles learn to navigate the complex world we live in (even funny books can do that).

Whatever they’re reading, just be sure they’re reading. It may seem like one more task to heap on your already full plate, but here are 4 easy ways to fit it in every single day.

How to include literature in your homeschool

1. READ ALOUD TOGETHER

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a million times, reading aloud together benefits your kids at all ages. You can read aloud to them, which lets them relax and really put their imaginations to work. You can have them read to you, which helps them learn to pronounce words correctly, sound out unfamiliar words, and get comfortable with some aspects of pubic speaking. You can do both. It’s completely up to you.

We read a chapter a day aloud together and we kind of mix it up. Some days the boys take turns reading alternating pages, some days I read to them, and some days all three of us alternate.

I don’t intend to take reading aloud out of our curriculum until they’ve graduated. It is a time during our school day that is almost outside everything else. We are transported to another world, have discussions that don’t feel like learning, and get to focus on being together.

Some days we read aloud in our classroom, some days we cuddle up on the couch for reading. It’s probably our favorite time of the homeschool day.

2. ASSIGN PARTICULAR BOOKS FOR YOUR CHILDREN TO READ ON THEIR OWN

Another way I make sure the boys get plenty of reading in is to assign them extracurricular books each year.

This has worked so well that they have both begun to read novels well beyond their ‘grade level’ (whatever that is) on their own. On top of their assigned books and the book we are reading aloud in class. Makes me one proud mama!

3. ASSIGN A SPECIFIC AMOUNT OF TIME FOR DAILY READING

You can start or end your school day with half an hour of required reading. Or 15 minutes. Or an hour.

You know your kids best, you know how long they’ll be able to sit still. Always add five minutes to that number. No, really. It teaches patience.

This will not only keep them reading, it might give you the time to finish the dishes. Or check your email. Or close your eyes and breathe.

My own boys are allowed to read their assigned books whenever they want, so long as they finish them within the allotted time. You can bet your boots I had this idea on standby, though, in case they blew it off.

4. USE LIVING BOOKS IN YOUR CURRICULUM

Living books are simply books that teach in a more conversational way than texts. They often come across more like stories than factual material, but they are, indeed, full of facts about the subject.

You can go over to Simply Charlotte Mason for a list of hundreds of living books separated by topic, or you can troll your own library for books that are both fictional and factual.

I hate to harp on Charles Dickens again (okay, no I don’t), but A Tale of Two Cities is a great resource for the French Revolution. You might be surprised at how many novels are also teachers. Watership Down is full of real information about rabbits. The Wind in the Willows teaches about river wildlife. Catching on? Yeah, that’s the stuff. That is definitely the good stuff.

MAKE SURE THEY ARE REALLY READING

There are several ways you can do this.

Have them keep a simple reading log. Have them write book reports, like I do.

My boys have to write them in essay form now, but I made up a simple book report form for them to fill out when they were little. You can download the form for free, too! I mean, you’re welcome.

You could also use a blank notebooking template and have them notebook their books as they read. There are lots of cool ways to track their reading in my Free Close Reading Printable Pack.

Any of these suggestions will not only show you that they’re reading, but help them more fully comprehend what they’re reading about.

Here’s the thing.

You know I crush on literature more than anything else in the world. That is because I fully believe that no matter how educated I am through schools, nothing I learned in college or anywhere else compares to what I’ve learned from being a lifelong reader. Engender that in your littles, and you will have given them the greatest gift imaginable–the ability to think intelligently and speak with knowledge.

KT Brison is a former children’s librarian and educator who gave all that up for the most important job in her life—homeschooling her boys.Though she loves the outdoors and rambling around her farm, she can usually be found with her nose in a book. Any book. As long as it has words.

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About KT Brison

KT Brison is a former children’s librarian and educator who gave all that up for the most important job in her life—homeschooling her boys. Though she loves the outdoors and rambling around her farm, she can usually be found with her nose in a book. Any book. As long as it has words.

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